Destined By Fate
by QChronoD
Summary: Harry has a destiny, and the prophecy means more than just defeating Riddle. Watch as he's thrown into the Wizarding World head first. Those in power will try to control him, but the fates want him to lead his own life. Discontinued
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note:

I don't own the characters. This is just for fun, etc, etc, etc.

This is my crack at the HP Universe. I'm a fan of Harry/Hermione, and a bit of a cheesy romantic.

It's slightly AU. Hagrid didn't take Harry to Diagon Alley. Instead he got all his supplies delivered to him by owl with his Hogwarts letter. He'd never met anyone from the wizarding world yet. I hope you enjoy the ride.

---------------------

Pain.

That was the first thing he noticed.

His entire body was screaming out in pain. Everything hurt, from his toes to his hair. Slowly he tried to open his eyes, but even his eyelids seemed to hurt. Finally cracking his eyes open, he could see some soft flickering light off to his left. It was casting dancing shadows on what must be the ceiling.

He tried to turn his head, letting a out a soft whimper due to how much everything hurt to move.

Fuzzy shapes that were probably a row of beds, met his gaze.

Gritting his teeth, he tried to lift his arm, hoping he'd be able to find his glasses on the table.

Gasping for breath, he searched as far as he could, but couldn't feel them anywhere.

In a pique of frustration, he swung his arm with all the strength he could muster. A spike of pain caused him to try and swallow down a brief yelp when his hand smacked into something large and heavy.

A great crash pierced the silence as what must have been a pitcher of water hit the floor and shattered into thousands of pieces.

Suddenly the cover on the 3rd bed down flew into the air and a figure leaped off the bed. They were scrambling around the end of the bed, grabbing the post at the foot to help make the turn quicker. Before he knew what was going on, he heard a voice shouting at the top of their lungs.

Unable to focus on the sounds, he could barely turn his head fast enough to see the blurry figure reach the end of the bed next to him. Watching them grip the foot post of the neighboring bed, their feet sliding sideways as they tried to change direction, his eyes began to widen as panic set in.

Closer they came, slowly coming into focus. Running in their stockinged feet, arms reaching out in front of them, hair trailing behind, he finally saw their face. His eyes locked onto the face of the figure hurtling towards him.

A split second before they impacted, he finally made out what was being yelled. "Harry!"

His world suddenly exploded in pain, causing spots to dance across his vision. A scream gurgled from his throat, lasting a mere moment before he went limp.

His vision went black, and the last thing he remembered was a pair of warm chocolate brown eyes glistening with tears.

------------------------------------------

Everywhere you looked there were people pushing trolleys, carrying briefcases, herding children, waving to friends. He turned in a circle, trying to find out where he was supposed to go.  
Looking back at his ticket, his confusion only increased. Where was he supposed to find a platform called 9 3/4? Finally seeing a conductor, he drew a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

"Excuse me, sir."

"Yes lad, do you need some help?"

"Um, I'm trying to find Platform 9 3/4, sir."

"What are you on about? This is no place to play a joke. Let me see that." Quickly reaching down, the conductor snagged his ticket from his hands. "There's noting on this, what are you trying to pull?"

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean any harm. My, um, uh, friends dared me, sir. I'm terribly sorry. I'll go back now sir."

He took his ticket back from the man, turned around and started to hurry away. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the conductor watching him with narrowed eyes. Ducking his head, he weaved between the crowds hoping to get lost from view.

He continued down the isle between Platforms 9 and 10, looking every which way hoping that everything in the last two weeks hadn't been a dream. He reached the end of the line, looking past the few people boarding the train on the left. There was nothing there, no Hogwarts Express, no magic, no place to go except back to his cupboard. He felt his eyes sting with tears, and slowly crumpled to the ground. Tightening his grip on the handle of his trolley, he shook his head.

'No! I won't go back. I'll never go back. This is real, it has to be real. Oh, please somebody let this be real.'

"Oh dear are you sure this is it?" he heard a woman ask.

"Yes mum, its just as the Professor said. Go to the 2Nd to last pillar between platforms 9 and 10, and enter through the southern wall," replied to voice of a young girl.

"I don't know, this sounds a bit fishy. I never heard of Platform 9 3/4," said a gruff voice, an older man, possibly her father?

Hearing those words, his head whipped up and around so fast that sparkles floated across his view. Not more than 10 feet away stood a family of three. The first person to speak, obviously the mother, was an attractive woman. Probably in her mid 30s, with a slim build, she had a soft round face, with golden brown eyes and matching long wavy hair that hung nearly to her waist. Standing next to here was an impressively tall man, at least 6'5" with a strong athletic frame, he had a head of curly black hair, and eyes the color of dark chocolate. Facing them was a small girl, maybe slightly taller than he was, which wasn't saying too much. She was facing away from him, so all he could see was that she was wearing sandals, a pleated skirt that hung to her knees, and a pale yellow shirt that had lose sleeves that hung just pas her elbows, and this bushy mane of brown curly hair a few shades darker than her mothers hanging down to her shoulder blades.

"Please let me try, I just know it's going to work," the young girl pleaded with her parents.

Sharing a glance between each other, her mother replied, "OK sweetie, just don't be to disappointed if nothing happens," while her father sighed and nodded his head.

The young girl bounced on her feet and spun to grab the handles of the trolley her trunk had been sitting on. Taking a deep breath and squinting at the wall, she quickly started to gain speed. "WAIT!" She heard yelled out to the right just as she was reaching the wall. Snapping her head in the direction of the voice, she looked for whoever had called out. An instant before everything disappeared, their eyes locked. Emerald green met chocolate brown, and in that split second both of them felt something deep inside stir, in a place that always felt a cold and empty, there was a trickle of warmth and something gave a little stir.

The girls parents heard a young boy call out just as their daughter disappeared through a brick wall. With a mix of surprise, awe, fear, and concern, they turned to the boy who was staring at where their daughter was last seen. They were shocked at what they saw. The boy in front of them was a study in contrasts, his clothes were obviously several sizes too large for him, practically falling off his body and covered in dirt and holes. If they didn't know better they would say that he was homeless and had been living on the streets. As they were looking, his face turned to meet their stare, and they both drew in a breath at the eyes looking back at them. His skin was so pale to be almost translucent, the light shining on him gave his rounded face the glow of an angel in a Renaissance painting. Topping his head was the wildest head of hair they had ever seen, so black it nearly swallowed the light, it was sticking up in every possible direction. Lastly, surrounded by large, round, black frames, and covered in cracked, scratched up glasses, were the most extraordinary, emerald green eyes they had ever seen. They shone as though lit by fire from within, and seemed to look though you and into your soul.

Blinking rapidly, the older woman recovered first and began to approach the boy. Striding closer, she noticed he started to shrink into himself, hunching his shoulders and averting his gaze. Squatting down so as to be eye level she gave a quick smile and spoke to the boy.

"Hello, young man. May I help you?"

Looking back up into her smiling face he replied, "Um, I heard you talking about Platform 9 3/4. I was given this ticket but I don't know where it is." Handing her the same ticket he rescued from the conductor earlier, he glanced over her shoulder and saw the man towering above him with his arms crossed and a small frown on his face. Looking back down at the ground, he missed the man quirk his brow, and deepen his scowl.

"Oh wonderful," the woman cheered, "you're going to Hogwarts too. Our daughter is just starting this year, so hopefully you two can become friends. I must say it is quite the coincidence that you happened to show up just as we were discussing this. It must be fate. Yes, I do believe that these things happen for a reason. Oh my, I'm sorry, I've been rambling on again. Anyways my dear, what's your name? My name is Emma Granger, and this is my husband Daniel, you've seen our daughter Hermione haven't you. Of course you did, that's why you called out wasn't it? So, back to your question, although it wasn't really a question more of a statement really, but that's besides the point. When they came to deliver our Hermione her letter, this lovely lady sat with us to answer our questions. She was a professor at the school, McConnelly or McGonnal or something, forgive me I'm terrible with names. So she made a tea set appear from thin air, and turned one of the cups into a mouse, quite a shock I must say. It was all very impressive, I hope that our Hermione is able to learn everything. I feel bad that we won't be able to help much when she comes home. What did they show you when they delivered your letter?" Finally stopping herself, she clasped the small boys hands in hers and shot a wide grin at him.

Staring at the woman in front of him in shock, his mouth hanging open, he felt her hands grasp his and instinctively tried to jerk them away. This caused her smile to falter, and she jumped slightly when a hand touched her shoulder.

"Em, you're rambling again. I doubt he understood anything you said, cause I sure didn't." He looked down on here with a fond smile, when she glanced back up at him. Turning to the boy, he stuck out his hand and addressed him. "Hello, you may have heard my wife say, my name is Daniel Granger. You mentioned something about Platform 9 3/4?"

The boy, looked at he hand offered to him and slowly reached out to give it a quick shake. "Harry sir, Harry Potter. Yes sir, that's where my ticket says I need to go, sir. I haven't been able to find it."

Releasing the boy's hand, he replied, "As you probably saw with our daughter, apparently you just walk though the wall of this divider. A mite bit strange, but it seemed to work. By the way, where are your parents?"

"Sorry sir, they're not here sir. My uncle gave me a ride, but had to go back to work, sir."

"Ah quite alright, luckily you found us." Giving his watch a quick glance, "Well it's almost time for the train to leave. You'd better hurry up so you don't miss it."

Quickly grasping his trolley again, Harry's head began bobbing like his neck was made of springs. "Thank you sir, and you too ma'am. Sorry to have bothered you. I'll be going now." Wrenching the cart to face in the right direction he heard the Grangers call out to him as he headed towards the wall.

"Have a safe trip Harry. Keep an eye out for Hermione, she's just as new to this are you seem to be."

Peeking over his shoulder, he saw them give a small wave as he vanished through the bricks.

--------------------------------------

Emerging through a cloud of steam, he was assaulted by a cacophony of noise. The low hum of the bright red steam engine to his left, parents calling out to their children, teens calling out to each other, little kids running and laughing, the shrill pitch of someone blowing a whistle, and finally the chiming of a large clock striking eleven.

'Eleven! Oh no, the train is going to leave.'

Running forward, he jumped up and down waving one of his arms over his head calling out, "Wait for me! Don't leave yet!"

As he got next to the train, the main whistle blew and caused him to divert his attention for half a second. Next thing he knew, the handle of the trolley smacked him across the chest driving the air from his lungs. He watched as his trunk and bird cage tumbled to the ground. Startled by the fall, a beautiful snow owl awoke and started flapping its arms and screeching. Before he could move, a pair of arms grabbed him under the arms and lifted him back onto his feet, while two others bent over his owl and trunk, picked both of them up and took a leaping step onto the slowly moving train.

His helper tugged on arm and began to run, nearly puling him back off his feet. Shaking out of his daze, he ran as fast as he could to try and catch up. Another tug on his arm caused him to lurch forward. Fearing that he would fall, he began to bring his hands up to protect his face when he felt something catch his wrists and lift him clear off his feet. Panic began to set in the moment before he was put back down on the ground. Looking around him, he saw three people before him before something hit him from behind, causing him to stumble into the girl standing before him. Both bodies hit the far side of the hallway, and fell back to the floor in a mass of arms and legs.

Something was digging into his side and his ankle felt all wrong. Letting out a groan he opened his eyes to see what happened. It was darker than a minute ago, confusing him for a second before he saw the face hovering inches above him surrounding the two of them with hair. It was those eyes, the same eyes he saw as they disappeared through the wall at the station. The stirring warmth that he felt deep in his chest was back, hotter and stronger than before. He couldn't blink, he could barely breath, and only vaguely heard noised from the outside world. They were the color of rich chocolate, they kind that was given as gifts to loved ones on Valentine's, or melted to make a warm cup of cocoa on a cold winters day. They had such a warmth in them that he felt he'd never be cold again. A cough jarred his senses, causing him to blink and the face to pull away.

Climbing back onto his feet, he saw the other people around him. First was a tall boy, nearly a man. With an extended hand and a laughing smile on his face, he helped the girl back to her feet. On either side of him, were what looked to be twins. Looking back and forth between the two of them, he nearly laughed as the silly grins on both of their faces. The one of the left was holding his trunk, and on the right was holding his owl in her cage. Suddenly they began to speak, switching words back and forth.

"Well, that -"  
"- was quite -"  
"- the start -"  
"- to a -"  
"- new life - "  
"- at Hogwarts," they finished together.

The tall boy in the middle, broke out into a laugh at the look on the young boy and girls faces.

"Fred, George, be nice. They don't need you two to confuse them anymore." Turning to face the new kids, he introduced everyone. "Hello, I'm Cedric Diggory, these two clowns are Fred and Greorge Weasley. They won't hurt you, but don't believe anything they say."

"Oy!!" Exclaimed the twin holding the trunk. "I ain't Fred, I'm George."

"No George, I'm Fred." replied the other. "And we take exception to your remark Cedric."

"Don't tell the firsties that. You've hurt my feelings."

"Alright you two, just shut up. Sorry about them. Glad you could make it aboard. What are your names?" Cedric asked, turning first to the girl.

"My name is Hermione Granger. Thank you for your help getting my trunk on board. I'm so excited to be going to Hogwarts. I've read all of Hogwarts: A History, is it really as wonderful of a castle as it sounds to be? I can't wait to see the Great Hall, they talked about the charms on the ceiling and it sounds like it's beautiful. Is it really difficult to learn magic. I've read through all my books, and I really wanted to try something, but I was told that we weren't allowed to do magic out of school. Do they teach Latin or Greek? I think that would be important to know since most of the spell names seem to come from those two languages. Potions sounds quite intriguing, hopefully I'll be good at it even though I'm not very good at cooking. My mother says that I would burn water if I tried, but everyone knows that it's impossible to burn water, it only evaporates when it boils. Have any of you taken Muggle Studies? Is it an accurate class? I wonder if there is a Wizard Studies class for people whose parents aren't wizards. Oh I'm looking forwards to Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall came to my house to deliver my letter..."

Hermione finally stopped talking once the three older boys burst into laughter, leaning on each other and nearly falling over. She narrowed her eyes at them and turned to her right. She was met by those green eyes again. Every time she looked into them, that empty spot in her chest filled her with more warmth than before. Taking a second to look, she saw the same wild black hair and pale white skin that so entranced her mother just moments before. Sticking out her hand she addressed her new companion. "Hermione Granger. I saw you outside as I was entering the platform. I'm glad that you made it in time. I saw you yelling and waving, and luckily was able to get their attention. The twins grabbed your stuff, and Cedric helped you to the train. Another few seconds later and I don't think you would have caught up."

Staring at the girl in front of him in a daze, he absently shook her hand. "Eyes."

This caused her to scrunch her forehead. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, please forgive me. Harry, Harry Potter. Tha..."

"POTTER?" All three boys gasped.

"You're -"  
"- Harry Potter? -"  
"- Defeater of evil, -"  
"- slayer of -"  
"- He-Who- -"  
"- -Must-Not- -"  
"- -Be-Named, -"  
"- the one, -"  
"- the only, -"  
"- the Boy- -"  
"- -Who-Lived?"

Harry looked back and forth as the twins spoke in their ping-pong fashion. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Oh wow! I've read all about you. They talked about you in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts!"

Harry turned back to her in confusion. "What are you going on about?"

Cedric saw that Harry was completely unaware of what was being discussed and decided to explain it to him. "Harry, every wizard knows you. You're famous for being the only person to survive the killing curse. After You-Know-Who killed your parents, he tried to kill you, but you survived and he was destroyed."

Harry backed into the corner and started shaking his head, "No, no, no, you have the wrong person. My parents died in a car crash when I was a baby. It was rainy and something happened and they drove off the road and I got a scar. I don't know who you're talking about."

The twins looked at each other in surprise. 'He doesn't know? Killed in a car crash? Why wasn't he told?'

Hermione gasped in shock and felt tears in her eyes. 'Oh no, I can't believe I said that. He's going to hate me now.'

Cedric looked back down the hallway and saw a few heads beginning to peak out of their compartments due to the twins exclamations. He opened the door to the compartment on the left and swiftly shuffled everyone in. Turning around and brandishing his wand, he muttered a spell under his breath and the door flashed a bright blue and squelched shut. Pocketing his wand again, he sat down between the twins again, and watched as Harry curled up into a ball on the opposite bench while Hermione's tears began to roll down her cheeks. Glancing at the twin on his right, he nodded his head in the girls direction and got up to switch seats as Fred/George/whichever pulled her into a hug, stroking her hair whispering softly to her as she cried. Now next to Harry, he reached out to his shoulder, quickly pulling back his hand as Harry jumped from the contact and tried to curl up even smaller.

"Harry, can you hear me? You're going to fine. No one is going to hurt you. I just want to talk to you for a minute." Softly touching Harry's shoulder again, he was able to turn the small child back towards him as he began to uncurl.

"Harry, I'm sorry if we offended you at all. Please just listen to us for a few minutes, and then we'll answer any question you have. Alright?" Harry gave a small nod. "OK, this story begins about 20 years ago. There was a very powerful and evil wizard who decided that he wanted to take over the world. He gathered a group of followers called Death Eaters, and for over 10 years, they caused chaos in the wizarding world. Lots of people were killed, many were terribly injured, and many just disappeared. On Halloween night, in 1981, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named went to kill you and your parents, no one seems to really know why, but they had been fighting against him and were some of the bravest people I've read about. When he came to your house that night, he killed your mother and father, and tried to kill you. Somehow you didn't die, but he did instead. It was said that you survived the killing curse, and that is how you got your scar."

At hearing this, Harry's had shot to his forehead and felt the scar that his relatives always yelled at him about. He looked around the compartment they were in while Cedric continued the story, telling about how everyone grew up hearing about the Boy-Who-Lived, and that he was hidden from the wizarding world for his protection. Harry looked at the faces of those surrounding him, noting that Cedric was facing him with a questioning look, the Twins were both looking at Hermione with concern in their eyes, and Hermione was staring back at him with tears on her face and a heart-wrenching look of sadness in her eyes. He gave her a bit of a smile, so she wouldn't be so sad. In a blur, he was pinned to the bench with arms wrapped around him and a face full of hair.

The Twins broke out into smiles with laughter dancing in their eyes as they watched Hermione tackle Harry into a hug, and start crying on his shoulder, mumbling incoherently about being sorry. Deciding to help the shocked boy, they continued Cedric's tale.

"Harry, we're sorry -"  
"- if we caused you -"  
"-any problems."  
"Keep in mind -"  
"- that we grew up -"  
"- hearing the story -"  
"- of how you survived -"  
"- so you are a bit -"  
"- of a celebrity -"  
"- to our world."  
"Please, if there -"  
"- anything that you need -"  
"- to ask about -"  
"- what Cedric has -"  
"- just told you?"

With Cedric helping extract Harry from the clutches on Hermione, he began to process what they had just said. "Um, but that's not what my Aunt and Uncle told me. How do I know you're not making everything up?"

Twin #1, he gave up trying to figure which was which, rose and started digging around in his trunk, finally pulling out a worn book. Sitting back down and flipping through it, he found what he had been looking for. Handing the book to Harry, he replied, "Here, this should show you we're not making it up."

There on the top of the page, was the chapter title "The Boy-Who-Lived". As he read the text below, he was a bit scared that everything that he had been told on the train so far was true. He never though he would be more surprised until he turned the page, and there he saw the most amazing thing ever. It was a picture, similar to all the ones on the walls back in Surrey, but with one major difference. This one moved! He stared in awe as the couple in the photograph smiled at him and gave a little wave. When they both looked down at something, it was then that he noticed that in the woman's arms was a baby only a few months old. The baby appeared to wake up and gave a little cry before opening his eyes and looking at the camera. Those were his eyes! He looked back at the parents, and now saw the similarities. The father had the same mass of unruly hair his Aunt complained about constantly, and the woman had the same eyes he saw every day in the mirror. 'Oh my god, those are my parents.' Glancing at the bottom of the page, in a flowing script he read, James and Lily Potter, and Little Harry.

Suddenly everything became blurry and started to get dark. He saw the book slide off his lap, and the world tilt dangerously. As everything went black he thought he heard a high-pitched laugh, a woman call out his name, and a flash of green, then he knew no more.

-----------------------------------

A/N: Just making some typo edits, and adding the spacing between paragraphs. This story isn't being beta'd at the moment so forgive my grammar/spelling.  
A/N²: If anyone has any suggestions as for what to do with Draco, I'm all ears.  
A/N³: Damn, it keeps taking out my spacings and break lines.... PITA!!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own socks, but no rights to Harry Potter. I just use him cause he seemed lonely

--------------------------------

Harry began to rouse, but quickly froze in fear.

Waking up, for Harry, usually led to more pain and anguish. It was rarely a gentle transition either. Most mornings his Aunt would pound on the door of his cupboard, shrieking for him to get up and start cooking breakfast. On occasion, his well-rounded cousin would thunder his way up and down the stairs, jumping on the 4th one from the top. That tended to knock bottle of cleaning supplies off the lose shelves, causing Harry to awake with a lump on his head and a splitting headache.

After years of the same conditions your body can get used to almost anything. So as he drifted to consciousness, he immediately knew that something was wrong. His body was laying out straight on something very comfortable. He hadn't been able to stretch out in his cupboard since he was five and a half. Since he was nine, he had always slept curled into a tight ball on his right side so he could occasionally read a book he had rescued from the trash in the evenings when the hall light was still on.

In the background he could hear several people talking in low voices, too quietly for him to understand. But there was something else, some sort of a buzzing or humming noise coming from above him. He nearly gasped in surprise when he felt a hand on his forehead, sliding back to run fingers through his hair. That's when it clicked in his mind, someone was humming him a lullaby. Deep in the back of his mind, he could vaguely hear snippets of a woman humming a similar tune.

Opening his eyes just a crack, he tried to peer around without alerting anyone he was awake.

----------------------------------

Hermione emerged through the wall onto Platform 9 3/4. She froze for a second as the scene washed over her. All around her were people wearing the strange robes she was fitted for at Madam Malkin's. She began to push her trolley forward again, weaving her way around small groups of adults, probably parents, chatting with each other. Approaching the train, Hermione was surprised that it was such an old steam engine. It reminded her of pictures she saw of her grandfather when he was barely older than her.

Stopping by a cluster of similar trolleys near an entrance on the train, Hermione struggled to lift her trunk. Just as she was able to stand back up, her trolley started to drift and bumped her in the shins. Startled, Hermione staggered backwards, losing her balance when the corner of her trunk caught the handle of her evil trolley.

Slowly, she felt herself falling, and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she tried to push the trunk away from her.

Hermione let out a shriek when she felt something grab her shoulders. Dropping the trunk completely, she spun around, still screaming, and stepped back.

Into the trunk.

And landed on the other side.

Moaning, she rolled over and rubbed her bruised back. Opening her eyes, she began to blink rapidly and rub her face. Looking back up again, "Oh no, I must have a concussion. I don't think I hit my head. But maybe the pain hasn't kicked in yet."

"Excuse us, -"  
"-but are you -"  
"- feeling alright?"  
"We're sorry to -"  
"- have startled you."  
"We were merely -"  
"- trying to help -"  
"- you regain -"  
"- your balance."

"Not only am I seeing double, now I'm hearing double." Hermione proceeded to bury her head in her arms.

Sharing a glance, they broke into grins and bantered between themselves.  
"Seeing double?"  
"That's troublesome."  
"We look nothing alike."  
"Of course, I'm much better looking."  
"No today is the 1st, I'm the better looking one today."  
"Too true, it's hard to remember which of us is more handsome."  
Turning back to the crying girl in front of them, they both knelt down and touched her shoulder.  
"I'm Fred, -"  
"- and I'm George, -"  
"- we're twins, -"  
"- quite handsome ones at that."  
"You're not seeing double, -"  
"- so don't worry your head."  
"Let us give -"  
"- you a hand -"  
"- with your trunk."

Hermione whipped her head back and forth as they switched between them. Still spooked about before, and now flooded with relief that her head was fine, she lunged into the boy on her right, gripping him tightly and mumbles a thank you into his stomach. Looking at each other, the twins gave a shrug and picked up Hermione and her trunk, boarding the train just before they heard the whistle blow.

All three of them gave a lurch and reached out to grab the railing on the wall as the train began to move. The twins looked up at the sound of their names. "Fred, George. Nearly didn't make it this year, eh?" Leaning out the door of a compartment a third of the way down the hall, a boy their age was looking back at them with a smile on his face.

"Ah, Cedric, -"  
"- how are you mate?"  
"Ronnikins is a -"  
"- firstie this year."  
"So it took us -"  
"- longer to leave -"  
"- this morning."

Cedric approached them, giving each in turn a handshake and a slap on the back. "Well, I'm glad you're here. So Ginny's the only one left now? But anyways, who's our lovely friend?"

Hearing a gasp, all three looked down at Hermione, noticing that she was pointing out the window. Following her arm, they saw she was staring at a small boy running towards the train as it pulled away. Quickly sharing a glance, they bolted down the steps.

---------------------------------------------------

Hermione was tired, sore, hungry, confused, and a little bit scared.

Today had been such a roller coaster emotionally, saying good-bye to her parents, meeting all the new people, and not knowing what was going to happen all wore her out. The tumble before boarding, and the fiasco after explain the soreness. They had been traveling for almost four hours now, and she hadn't eaten anything since before leaving home, and it wasn't much at that. But it was the small boy that she just met today, and who, for the majority of the trip, had been laying with his head in her lap as she ran finger through his hair that was the source of her confusion and fear.

She hated being confused. Especially when there wasn't a book that could dispel the problem. No, she doubted there was a book written that could explain what she felt in her chest whenever their eyes met. There was something she saw in that instant that must have caught her attention. It was more than the color, although she had to admit that sparkling shade of green would catch any-one's attention. Looking down at his sleeping face, for a second she imagined waking up to look into those eyes for the rest of her life, and gave a slight grin.

Completely distracted by that thought, she blushed and turned her head to look out the window. Unfortunately she missed seeing his eyes open, and the blush creeping up his face.

Harry glanced around the room as best he could without moving. Directly above him, and looking right back at him, was the girl he had just met. Now that he's had more than a few quick glimpses, he can easily see the features that the inherited from both of her parents. Her hair and eyes were a blend of both parents, Tightly curly hair of her father with numerous golden highlights from her mother. Her eyes were a smooth brown color that were speckled with dark and light , giving them a depth and sparkle of precious stones. Her nose was definitely her fathers, but she won her mothers cheeks and lips which seemed to always want to break into a smile to show the world how happy they were. The longer he looked, the more he realized she was cute. 'What? Cute? But she's a girl!' Realizing for the first time that girls might just be OK, and started to blush.

The Weasley twins had left the compartment with Cedric shortly after Harry had fainted to meet up with more of their friends and cause mayhem. Coming back for the third time to check on the Harry and Hermione, they slid open the door and burst into the room. When both heads whipped in their direction, they stopped stumbling around. Seeing the way they were arranged, and the pair's mutual blushes, George cracked and huge grin.

"Oy, Gred!"  
"Yes, Forge?"  
"I do believe that we may have intruded on a private moment."  
"Really now? Whatever could they have been doing?"  
"I couldn't say, dear brother. They are only firsties."  
"True, true. But this is the Boy-Who-Lived. He's quite the hero."

"Oy! Really? Harry Potter is in there?" called out a third voice. Pushing his way into the room, another redhead popped out from between the twins. "Are you him? Can I see your scar? What was it like?"

Harry, already confused by what the twins were talking about, was stunned by this somewhat intruder's barrage of questions. His only reply to the eager boy was to blink rapidly and push himself farther away for this new interrogator. Coincidentally, this meant that he shoved himself completely onto Hermione's lap, and didn't notice until he felt her breath on the back of his neck. Realizing what he had done, Harry practically launched himself to the other side of the room and refused to look at anyone.

Fred and George, looking back and forth between Harry huddled in the corner, Ron staring at him bug-eyed, and Hermione with a blush that could probably start fires, broke into laughter and collapsed on the floor holding themselves.

The youngest redhead finally looked down at the quivering mass on the floor and narrowed his eyes. "Hey, you better not be laughing at me again. I'll tell mum it was you guys who turned the potatoes orange." Turning back to where Harry had by laying before, he finally noticed the girl that had been with him. "Who are you?"

"It's polite to give your name first when you greet a new person. But for your information, I am Hermione Granger. I deduce from your comment to those two that you are their brother."

"My name's Ron. What sort of a name is Hermione anyways?"

"My mother minored in Shakespeare at University. Her favorite story was always _The Winter's Tale_."

"Why would you mum do that to some Shakers guy?"

Hermione is flabbergasted at Ron's reply. How could someone his age never heard of Shakespeare? Before she could start to question him on his ignorance, the door was flung open yet again.

Standing in the door this time, were three people, well kids really. in the middle was a young boy, slightly taller than Hermione, but several inches shorter than Ron. He had platinum blond hair, slicked back on his head hanging down to the name of his neck. his eyes were a cold grey that felt more like the lack of any color. The coldness of his eyes lent more of an edge to the sneer on his face. The way he stood, showed that he was raised to wear his power and confidence like a badge. his two companions were large than the blond, in height and girth. They tried to give a look that was menacing, but came across as being constipated. Taking a stride into the room, the blond looked at the inhabitants and his sneer increased.

"I heard that Potter was here at the back of the train. I hope that I've finally found him." Turning to the boy in the corner, "Are you Potter? Hey, I'm talking to you! Answer me!" Getting no response, he grabbed the boys shoulder and pulled him around to look at his face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," stammered Harry.

Huffing in disgust, the blond lunged forward and swiped the hair away from Harry's forehead. "Ah-ha! you are Potter. I'm Draco Malfoy. Come with me and I'll show you around to the people worth knowing."

Harry swatted away at Draco's arm, and tried to tuck back into the corner. "No! Stay away! Don't hurt me. Not again." Harry started breathing faster, mumbling nonsense into the seat cushions.

Everyone broke out their trance at the sound of his cries. Hermione darted across the compartment and wrapper her arms around his body, whispering and rocking to calm him down. The twins starting shouting in protest, yelling for him to leave.

"Like I'd want to stay here! Potter's a little cry-baby, three Weasleys that are too poor to afford dirt, and what looks like a mud-blood. I'm starting to feel infected already. Crabbe! Goyle! Let's go find people worthy of my time." And with that, he spun around and left, slamming the compartment door closed on his way.

Ron had just stood there, in the middle of the compartment the entire time with his mouth hanging open. Seeing the girl with the weird name hugging the boy, and his brothers with their heads together whispering, Ron decided to leave and try to some people who were more fun.

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Arriving at Hogsmeade Station, all the children scrambled off the train. Most of the older years ran off to claim a carriage for themselves and their friends, while a few stayed by the train helping their siblings with trunks or giving them some final words of support. Three boys stayed behind looking after a small rag-tag group of kids. Cedric approached two girls who he had met before through their parents. Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones were both struck speechless that a cute, older boy would be willing to talk to them.

"Hannah, Susan. My name is Cedric Diggory, my father, Amos, works in the Ministry with your parents and your aunt. How are you two holding up so far?"

With a deep blush, they girls glanced at each other before Susan replied, "We're fine, sir. I think my Auntie has mentioned your father before. How did you know who we were?"

"I met both of you a few years ago at the Ministry Christmas Party. Its alright if you don't remember, I think you might have been the youngest kids there and were probably bored out of your minds. I was wondering if you would do me a favor."

"Of course," they both exclaimed. "What do you want us to do Mr. Diggory?""

"Ah, please, call me Cedric. I know you're both good girls, I was hoping that you would be willing to watch out for some of the students who are new to our world. Especially those two over there." With that, he turned and pointed out the laughing pair of Harry and Hermione. "Oh, and don't eat anything those twins give you."

Susan instantly recognized the older twins as Weasleys. She had heard several stories from her mother and her aunt about the chaos they make. Hannah, finally tearing her eyes away from Cedric, frowned when she say the girl's hair wondering why she didn't fix it. Idly thinking of better hairstyles for what she considered an unmitigated disaster, she glanced at the boy next to here. Just as she was about to dismiss him entirely and go back to staring at Cedric, the boy brushed his hands across his eyes accidentally pushing the hair hanging over his forehead to the side.

"OH MY GOD! THAT'S HARRY POTTER!" Instantly, every head snapped around and looked at the direction she was pointing. Harry, Hermione, and the twins turned in the direction of the shout, and saw Cedric crouched down in front of two girls with the brunette still pointing at him.

"Hey now! What's all the racket about? Oh hey there boys, what's all this about Harry? Is he really come this year?"

"Hiya Hagrid."  
"Did ya miss us?"

"Of course I did Fred. Wait, or are you George? Never can tell you two apart. So who's you're little friends?"

Harry and Hermione just stared up in awe at he newcomer. He had to have been at least 8 feet tall and was as wide as their arms stretched as far as they could go. Wearing a massive fur coat and carrying a pink umbrella, he looked like a cross between a caveman and Paul Bunyan, (not that anyone other than Hermione knew who that was).

"Hagrid, old friend, -"  
"- this here is -"  
"- Hermione Granger -"  
" -and Harry Potter."

"Blimey, its little Harry. Well I haven't seen you since the night when... Err, well, you've all grown up now. You look like the spittin image of yer da', but you've gotten yer mother's eyes. Oh I miss them something terrible. If it wasn't for that damned Black, they'd still be alive." Hagrid shook his head and pulled out a handkerchief the size of a blanket. When he blew his nose, everyone jumped back at he sheer volume of the noise.  
"Right then. First years, this way! Follow me! C'mon Harry let's get you to the boats." With that he was off with all the first year students stumbling behind him to the dock, occasionally casting glances at Harry and whispering between themselves.

The twins gave a cheer and waved everyone off, then turned back to Cedric. Standing at he same place as before, he saw the glare and hung his head. "Sorry guys, didn't know she's go off like that. C'mon lets grab the carriage before it leaves and we have to walk back."

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Hermione guided Harry into an empty boat and hoped that Draco or Ron didn't feel like joining them. Luckily the pair were met by the two girls they saw before. Hermione didn't mind the redhead, but she felt apprehensive about the other. She was the one that called out Harry's name and caused everyone around to stare at him. It finally occurred to Hermione that she was becoming fixated on this boy who she had just met. As fast as lightning, several thoughts sprung to mind. 'Am I being manipulated by magic? Why would anyone want to do that? Harry wouldn't want that, unless he's been acting. What reason would he have to put on an act? More importantly, what if this wasn't an act? What could have caused him to be this way? I need to write to mum, she'd probably know. I wonder if they have psych books in the library, I could do some research myself.'

Feeling a hand touch her arm, she pulled out of her thoughts and turned to the girl next to her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking about something. Were you saying something?"

Now that she had her attention, the red-head gave a quick smile. "Hello, I'm Susan Bones, and this is my friend Hannah Abbot. We're sorry about what happened on the station. Hannah sometimes opens her mouth before her brain kicks in." At this Hannah stuck her tongue out at her friend and turned back to the small boy with his face buried in his knees.

"My name is Hermione Granger, and apparently you already know Harry. My parent's don't have magic so this is all new to me. I'm just so excited to be able to come to Hogwarts to study."

"Oh you're a muggleborn? My whole family is magical, so please feel free to ask if you have any questions. I'm sure that there are lots of little things that you won't know since you haven't grown up here."

Quickly glancing at Harry again, and giving Hannah a small frown for staring at him so openly, she leaned in closer to Susan. "Um, there's one thing that I'm very curious about already. I read several of my books after I got my letter, and they mentioned that Harry defeated someone called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but no details. What happened and why won't they say his name? Also, everyone seemed to be surprised to meet him today. Why is that? If he's so famous wouldn't people have seen him in public before?"

Susan bit her lip and looked over at the small boy. "First, no-one says his name, I don't know if its because everyone is still afraid or if there is some way of him knowing. Second, my Auntie is head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, basically our police. Anyways, she says that no-one knows what happened that night except Harry and You-Know-Who. There are lots of theories, but the only evidence is that only Harry survived. As for everyone being surprised? That's because no-one in the wizarding world has ever seen Harry since that night. He was sent somewhere secret to protect him from the remaining Death Eaters until they were caught. I don't know why he wasn't brought back when they were gone."

"Hannah! Stop that! Leave him alone, how would you like it if I was poking you when you wanted to be left alone." At Susan's comment, Hannah stopping prodding Harry in the shoulder, gave the other girls a sheepish grin and climbed across the boat to squeeze in next to them. "Sorry Suz," she whispered back. "But it's really him. Why won't he talk to us?"

"Apparently he never knew about wizards either. With everyone constantly staring at him and whispering, I'm surprised he hasn't run off yet. I know I'm still pretty freaked out about everything and most people are ignoring me."

The girls continued to chat during the ride, filling Hermione in on as much of Wizarding culture as they could think of, while she returned the favor explaining how muggles did many things. They stopped briefly when Hogwarts first came into view, with all the lights in the castle windows reflecting off the lake, making the three of them speechless. If they had looked over at their companion, they would have been shocked to see a few tears pooling in the corner of his eyes and the widest grin that he could ever remember.

Harry was quite for the rest of the journey. Barely paying attention to the people around him, he marched along with the rest or the students, keeping his head down and watching the feet of the person in front of him. They were brought up from a stone dock inside the castle, along a winding set of stairs and through several courtyards to wait before a pair of massive doors.

A severe looking woman wearing dark red robes, and a tall witches hat, approached the group and instructed them to wait there until she returned for them. With that she swept off down the corridor and through a small doorway.

All the students turned to look at each other with a mixture of fear, wonder, and boredom on their faces. The three girls went back to their previous conversation, occasionally glancing over at Harry as he tried to disappear into the corner of the stairway. Ron and Draco started arguing loudly about Slytherin and Gryffindor while being egged on by several other students. Soon they were all interrupted by a harsh clearing of some one's throat. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw the lady from before had returned.

"Now everyone listen to me. My name is Professor McGonagall, you are to line up in two columns and follow me into the Great Hall. That is where we shall sort you into the houses you will spend your time with while at Hogwarts. Quickly now, and be neat about it." And with that, she turned on her heal and gave the large doors a sharp rap. Before they had finished opening, Professor McGonagall began to stride forward, causing the students to scramble behind her, jostling to make two lines and stay near their friends.

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A/N: I tried to figure out a class schedule for all the houses and decided that Hogwarts education is pretty minimal. Since the classes are split for 1-5, there isn't enough time for the main classes to have more than 3hrs a week. 8hr day for school, 3hrs per session, 2 sessions per year, that's 36hrs for the teacher. First years take 7 classes, that's only 21 hours, not counting that Astronomy is at night. What are they doing the other half of the week during the day?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I would like a few chocolate frogs.

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Cedric was a friendly person. He was always quick to help someone in need, always had a smile handy, and rarely got worked up over anything. But he wasn't in a good mood tonight.

Cedric was too worried to enjoy being back at Hogwarts this year. Something about the way that Harry Potter reacted on the train this afternoon cause warning bells to ring in his head. It was like he was afraid of being hurt each time someone reached out for him. What happened to him while he was in the muggle world. Why didn't he know about his parents? Who told him that they died in a accident. He'd have to owl his father soon, but word his letter carefully so dad didn't go asking the wrong questions at the Ministry.

Cedric continued to sit at the house table with his friends, but didn't join in with thier conversations. While everyone around him was catching up with each other about their summer, he stared off into space going over the incident on the train and his discussion with the twins. The longer he sat brooding, the more he furrowed his brow and the deeper his frown crept.

Sitting on the far side of the next table was a stunning Chinese girl, with razor straight waist long black hair, deep black eyes and a skin softer than silk. She was fixated on watching Cedric's face, and the more upset he looked the more she began to wring her hands and bite her lip.

"Cho? Hello, are you listening to me?"

Startled by the hand on her arm and the voice calling her, Cho Chang turned to her friend Marietta, and gave her a small smile.

"I'm sorry Mary. What were you saying?"

"Forget what I've been saying. What's got you all worked up tonight? It's not your hot stuff, 'Puff', is it?"

"I don't know. He's been frowning about something ever since we got here. And don't call him that!"

Marietta loved to tease her friend about her crush on the Hufflepuff hunk, Cedric Diggory. Half the girls in their year had a crush on Cedric, but Cho was utterly in love with the boy. If Cho was concerned about something then there was probably something wrong. With a sigh, Marieta gave Cho a quick one armed hug to try and cheer her up.

"Well I'm sure that he'll be fine for now. You can always talk to him tomorrow before classes."

------------------------------------------

Hannah, Susan, Hermione and Harry shuffled into the great hall following Prefessor McGonagall. Hannah and Susan were whispering to each other about a few of the other people they knew that were already seated at the long tables on either side. Hermione was lecturing to Harry and anyone close enough to listen to her about what she read in Hogwarts: A History regarding the magic that created the illusion of the sky in the ceiling of the great hall.

Seeing that Harry was starting to fall behind while trying to look at everything, she reached back and clasped her hand around one of his. At the touch, Harry turned to look at her with a question on his face. Hermione replied with a smile and continued to the front of the room near the table all the adults were seated at.

Harry was still perplexed by the girl he met today. Actually he was perplexed by almost everything that happened since he woke up this morning. Stumbling to a halt, he glanced at his companion one last time, and closed his eyes to wish that this wasn't just another dream.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry was startled out of the daze by the yell. Blinking quickly, he saw the girl that was poking him on the boat take off a beat up hat and hand it back to the professor that walked them into the hall. As she ran to the table on the far left, the next name was called out

"Bones, Susan" And the red head from the boat ride went up the stair and put on the same hat. He watched in amazement as the hat called out Hufflepuff again, causing both girls to squeal with delight.

Harry watched in amusement at the next several kids were sent to different houses. It wasn't until Hermione was called up that he realized he might be separated from the few people he met. He watched in growing fear as Hermione took longer than anyone else with the hat. After nearly two minutes, and several glances between the teachers, finally the hat called out, "RAVENCLAW!"

Hermione passed the hat back and started towards the table of her new house. On the way she turned to look back at Harry and saw that he was watching her walk away. Meeting his eyes, she could feel the fear in him that they would be separated, causing her to give him a small smile. Finally reaching the table, she was waved over to sit by a beautiful Asian girl that was giving her a huge smile.

"Hi, I'm Cho Chang, and this is Marietta Edgecombe, we all call her Mary. You took a long time to get sorted, that usually means you would be able to fit into most of the houses."

"Thank you, I'm Hermione. I was afraid I wasn't going to be sorted and was going to be sent back home."

"Oh that never happens. If you have magic then you can be accepted here. Occasionally a muggleborn's parents don't accept the letter from Hogwarts so the Ministry will bind... WHAT? Did she say Harry Potter?"

"Yes, Harry Potter is starting this year too. I rode up with him, and we shared a boat with Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones."

"Wow, you're so lucky. Will you introduce us to him later? Let's watch to see where he's sorted into." With that, the three girls turned back to watch as Harry put on the old hat.

Everyone was turned to watch Harry get sorted, jostling for a better view, whispering to thier friends where they think he would go. The noise rose higher and higher as the Sorting took longer and longer. Over three minutes later, Hermione was fidgeting in her seat and chewing on her lip worried about her new friend. He kept flinching at things no one could see, and was slowly shrinking into himself. Hermione saw the professors constantly looking at one another, when finally the headmaster gave McGonagall a nod. The noise in the great hall reached a fevered pitch when Professor McGonagall stepped forward and began to reach for the sorting hat. It was unheard of, never had a student not been sorted in all the thousand years that Hogwarts had been open. To think that The-Boy-Who-Lived would be rejected boggled the mind. Just as she grasped the rim, the hat bellowed out its decision.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Absolute silence.

It was at the focus of everyone's stares that Harry opened his eyes after removing the hat. Freezing in mid step, his eyes darted around the room looking for some way to escape all this attention. There, almost halfway down the table on the right, he locked eyes with a familiar sight. Hermione's eyes sparkled with unshed tears. At first Harry thought that she was upset that he wasn't smart enough to become a Ravenclaw with her, but then he noticed the ear splitting grin she had. 'She's happy for me,' he thought to himself. 'Someone is finally happy for me to be around them.' With that, he felt his own smile begin to grow and tears start to prick the back of his eyes.

Hermione was thrilled and relieved that Harry was finally sorted. There was a small part of regret that he wasn't in her house, but she brushed that away easily since she knew that most people weren't as dedicated to studying as she was. Watching Harry staring at her, she saw the small corners of his mouth begin to curl into a smile. She could tell that he was dazed by something because he barely reacted when the tall boy they met this morning, Cedric, came up the stairs and led Harry down to this table, sitting him on the bench next to him.

Hearing a sigh next to her, Hermione turned to see Cho staring wistfully at Cedric with a blush on her cheeks. On her far side, Mary caught Hermione's gaze and rolled her eyes while giggling at her friends hopeless crush.

-------------------------------------------

"Patil, Padma!"

Harry bit his lip, and grabbed the edge of his cloak even tighter.

Another name was called out, it would be his turn soon. Watching the kids before him get sorted into their new houses, he began to worry where he'd end up. During the wait to be let into the Great Hall, he overheard a few people chatting about which houses they wanted to be in. Hermione had said that Gryffindor wanted courage, Hufflepuff was about loyalty, Ravenclaw pursued knowledge, and Slytherin was for the cunning. The tall redhead boy nearby claimed he would be in Gyrffindor and that Hufflepuffs were weak, Ravenclaws were brainiacs and Slytherins were evil. While the blond boy in front of him insisted he was going to be Slytherin and stated that Gryffindor was a bunch of fools, Hufflepuff was full of cry-babies, and Ravenclaws ignored the world for a book. All the conflicting information was driving him insane.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Patil, Parvati!"

'Crap, it's going to be me soon.' Harry still couldn't decide where he wanted to be. 'I just want to make some friends. Hermione is a Ravenclaw, she's be really nice to me all day. Maybe I can be with her.'

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Potter, Harry!"

As Harry walked up the steps, he noticed that the hall became silent. Then all the whispering returned and began to get louder. Sitting on the stool, he caught a quick glance of hundreds of eyes looking right at him. With a gulp, he dropped the hat onto his head and everything went dark.

"Hmmm, very interesting. Oh yes, interesting indeed."

"Hello?" Harry called out.

"My dear boy, you have quite an extraordinary mind."

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am the Sorting Hat of course. Oh, I see, you weren't listening to my song. Oh well, nothing to be done about that now. The question remains, where shall you go."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were singing. Everythign is very strange and I don't really know what I'm supposed to do. I promise to pay attention better next time."

"Never you mind, boy. I see its overwhelming since they never gave you the letter or took you shopping. Very odd that."

"What letter? Who didn't give me a letter? My Aunt and Uncle knew about this and didn't tell me?"

"Of course they knew about it boy. I don't know what the Headmaster is thinking with this foolishness. Yes, I see, I think you'd do very well in Slytherin."

"WHAT? No, please put it in Ravenclaw."

"Not Slytherin, eh? Hmm Ravenclaw you say. Like to learn? Study hard? No, I don't think that'd be good for you. Gryffindor maybe. Lots of courage I see. No, I think you'd be best in SLY-"

"NO! Please, anything but Slytherin. The other houses don't like Slytherin. I don't want them to hate me. I just want to make some friends."

"Want to make some friends? People who stand by you. Will you stand by them? Even if it means people will hate you."

"I don't want anyone to hate me. Why do people hate me? I try to be nice to everyone but I always get blaimed for everything."

"You are difficult to sort. Too timid for Gryffindor, too afraid for Slytherin, not driven enough for Ravenclaw."

"Please Mr. Hat, don't make me go back. I just want to make some friends."

"Hmm, you leave me little choice. I place you in HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry blinked as the hat was lifted off his head and was greated by stunned silence. Confused about what was wrong and worried he was put in the wrong house, he jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Cedric was standing next to him with a small smile, gently pulling on his shoulder. Harry follow him down the steps to one of the tables and sat next to him on the bench.

"Smith, Zacharias!"

With the next name being called, the Great hall exploded into furious whispers. Harry look around him, now taht he was seated at his house table. Noticing that lots fo the students were looking in his direction with strange looks on their faces, he turned to try and spot Hermione. Finally he saw her sitting halfway down the table on the other side of the isle. She was already looking directly at him, giving him a big smile. Seeing that she wasn't upset with where he had been sorted, Harry released a breath that he did know he had been holding and gave her a small smile in return.

"You OK there Harry?"

At this he turned back to Cedirc and his smile grew just a little more. "Yeah, I think I'm OK now. Thank you Cedric."

"Ah, no worries. I remember being afraid of where I'd end up sorted when I was a first year. By the way, this is Neville Longbottom, you guys will be rooming with me this year."

Across the table was a pudgy little boy with dirt on his forehead. "Um, hi?" Neville put his hand out, and shook hands with Harry.

"Hi, I'm Harry."

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Sorry for the lack of breaks between scene/POV changes, I'm still trying to figure out how to get them to not go away when I submit the chapter. :(


End file.
